Last Minute Thanksgiving Decor

“Wait, I’M HOSTING THANKSGIVING?? I thought we were having it at your house!”

If this is the conversation you’re having with your family or friends a week from Thanksgiving, don’t worry; it’s all gravy, baby. Pawn off turkey preparations to someone else and take a deep breath.Decorating for this holiday doesn’t need to be labor intensive. Use these tips to put together a beautiful table and the perfect environment to give thanks.

Centerpieces

Candles

These lovely historical sources of light have dual purpose in this world; decoration and back up light if the power goes out. Use any type of candle; it’s rare to have a multitude of identical candles just laying around your house so don’t worry if they don’t match or are different lengths, and place in a glass holder or cylinder of any kind. You don’t have to light them for the whole time (or even at all) your guests are at your home. They’ll be a beautiful accent regardless.

Nature

Walk outside and see what your natural habitat has given you to work with. You can create a ring of small branches to place the candles in or arrange dried leaves around your table. Pinecones and acorns are also a great last minute decoration piece. They work well with the candles or in a decorative bowl.

Name Place Cards

You have several options for this one:

Non-traditional

Be modern and let everyone pick their spot

Kids to the rescue!

Herd those guests of yours in an orderly fashion to the table by having
your kids (if you don’t have kids, with the permission of their parents, borrow
a few) make name place cards with fall colored construction paper.

D.I.Y.

You can create a leaf template and use it to create leaf name place cards to set on everyone’s plate.

Night Before

Arrange your house the evening before Thanksgiving. Move the tables to where you want them for Thanksgiving Day. It’s not a bad idea to have a table to the side where you can place the food after it has been passed around the table.

Set the table with plates, silverware, glasses, napkins and name place cards before you go to bed.

Have a great night’s sleep knowing your house is completely ready Thanksgiving festivities and looks fantastic!